The Brandon Aiyuk saga continues. And like almost all chapters before it, there’s not much actual traction. Just reporting, speculation, and pondering. That continues with the San Francisco Chronicle’s Michael Silver and his take on the Aiyuk situation. In short, Aiyuk’s status with the 49ers is truly up in the air but the door is open for a trade.
“All I know is that as of Monday night, when I posed the question to a 49ers source with direct knowledge of the team’s plans, the words I kept hearing were, ‘Anything’s possible.’
“Earlier, I spoke to another team’s general manager who insisted that, because the 49ers and Aiyuk are far apart on negotiations for a lucrative contract extension, the fifth-year receiver is ‘very much in play.’”
Earlier this week, GM John Lynch remained adamant in his goal of keeping Aiyuk in San Francisco for the rest of his career and implied the two sides were discussing a long-term deal. And though Lynch also said he “anticipated” Aiyuk remaining a 49er through draft weekend, his language didn’t close that door entirely.
But if Silver’s reports are to be believed, the price tag for Aiyuk isn’t cheap. According to one executive, the 49ers are asking for a first-round pick in return.
“There is a sense among other high-ranking personnel executives around the league that Aiyuk, as one such executive put it, ‘is available for the right price.’ To this point, the 49ers have asked for a 2024 first-round pick. “They want too much,” said the executive, whose team is in the market for a receiver.”
For Pittsburgh, that would mean potentially giving up its 20th overall selection. Such a deal would give San Francisco a pair of first rounders — the 49ers currently hold No. 31 — and the chance to draft the fourth receiver off the board and replace Aiyuk. He’s coming off his best NFL season, recording 1,342 yards and seven touchdowns, leading or tying the team in every main receiving category.
He’d be a great fit for the Steelers offense and top starter next to George Pickens. Pittsburgh has a clear need for a starting receiver and struck out on options in free agency, unable to bring veteran Mike Williams into the building before he signed a one-year deal with the New York Jets. Though the Steelers are normally protective of their first-round selections, Omar Khan has shown to be aggressive, and the team sent a 2020 first rounder for FS Minkah Fitzpatrick during the 2019 season, though those circumstances were different.
Draft day deals like landing Aiyuk are rare but have taken place. The Tennessee Titans sent A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles mid-draft in 2022 for a first-round pick. The 49ers are likely angling for the same. Mike Florio believes if a deal happens, it’ll occur when the Steelers are on the clock. But in a receiver-deep class and the understanding Aiyuk will come with his own personal price tag, a long-term contract worth well over $20 million per season, it would be a mild upset if any team sent the 49ers a first-round pick for him.
